By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

Anambra State Police Command has arrested a 29-year-old woman, Mrs. Edeh Osinachi, over alleged physical abuse of a 17-year-old girl in Awka, the state capital.

It was gathered that the arrest came on the heels of the swift intervention of authorities of the school being attended by the victim and the State Ministry of Education.

Confirming the incident, the State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspect was formally handed over to the Police by officials of the Ministry of Education as part of ongoing efforts to safeguard the welfare and security of students and pupils across the state.

According to him, preliminary investigations revealed that officials of the victim’s school noticed visible injuries on her body and started querying the source.

He said that further inquiry by the school authorities led to the girl saying that her guardian who she serves as a househelp inflicted the injuries on her for using her phone without permission.

According to the police spokesperson, the victim recounted how her Madam became enraged after discovering that she had made calls with her phone without her permission, and consequently subjected her to physical punishment by scalding her body parts with a hot pressing iron.

Ikenga said: "During interrogation by officers of the Anambra State Police Command, the suspect confessed to the act. Investigations into the matter are ongoing to establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident.”

The Anambra Police Spokesman hailed the school authorities’ vigilance, responsiveness and swift action.

He described the development as a positive outcome of strengthened school-community security collaboration within the state.

Ikenga assured the public that a thorough investigation will be conducted and that justice will be served in accordance with the Law.

He advised parents to give birth to the number of children that they can train, to avoid leaving them vulnerable to abuse while in the care of others.